Fall 2016
North
Dakota
Ag
Classroom
in the
Livestock and Land
p
i
h
s
d
r
a
w
e
St
ral
management of our environment and natu
Stewardship is the careful and responsible
ota’s
Dak
th
Nor
r.
animals, land, air and wate
resources. It includes the management of
properly caring for their land and their
farmers and ranchers are committed to
of these resources while providing
livestock. They are responsible stewards
us.
food, fiber, fuel and forestry products for
Stewards: Yes or No?
Write YES or NO if it’s something farmers and ranchers do to be good stewards.
����� Provide the dairy cows with comfortable bedding made of sand,
rubber, foam, sawdust or clean straw.
����� Sing lullabies to the sheep.
����� Provide nutritious feed for their chickens and pigs.
����� Get veterinary care for a calf when it’s not feeling well.
����� Ensure the cattle have plenty of clean water.
����� Plant rose bushes to reduce soil erosion.
North Dakota’s Livestock
beef cattle
camels
bison
rabbits
pigs
moose
llamas
water buffalo
dairy cattle
alpacas
sheep
goats
elk
www.istockphoto.com
Which animals are North Dakota livestock? Put a line from
the livestock to our state if they are raised on North Dakota
farms and ranches.
Photographs:
NDSU Archiv
es. Dickinson
C
ollection.
The 1930s:
Farm Depression
A depression is a period of time when the economy is very poor. During
the 1930s, the United States suffered a depression that was so severe it is
referred to as the “Great Depression.” North Dakota also suffered a major
drought during this decade. The lack of rainfall added to the difficulties
caused by the poor economy.
The drought and low crop prices of the 1930s caused a farm depression and
hardship across North Dakota. Farm foreclosures (where the farmer can’t pay
the money back that was borrowed from the bank and the bank must sell
the farm) forced many farm families to move to cities or leave North Dakota.
North Dakota’s population in 1930 was 680,000 people. About 121,000
people moved out of the state during the 1930s. What was the state’s
population in 1940? __________
In 2016, North Dakota’s population was 739,000 people. How many
years passed from 1930 to 2016? __________
Are there more or fewer people in 2016 compared with 1930? How many?
__________
In 1933, North Dakota had 86,000 farms. In 1940, there were 73,692 farms
in the state. How many North Dakota farms were lost due to the Great
Depression and drought from 1933 to 1940? __________
Based on the story above, underline the statements you think are accurate.
Farmers faced low prices.
Some farmers lost their farms.
Farming was fun in the ’30s.
Better methods of farming were developed.
The average income in N.D. was $145 per year.
Without crops, the land turned to dust.
Teddy Roosevelt was the president in the ’30s.
Drought caused many problems.
Rotating crops was taught to assist farmers.
2
A Slice of Soil
Imagine the Earth as a pie. Cut the pie into four equal parts.
Three parts represent the oceans of the world. Color 3/4 of the
pie chart blue to represent the oceans. The fourth part represents
the land area.
Cut the land section in half to make two 1/8 pieces. One
section represents land such as deserts, swamps,
Antarctic, Arctic and mountain regions. These regions
are not suitable for people to live. Color this 1/8 red.
Cut the remaining 1/8 section into four equal parts.
Three of these 1/32 sections represent the areas
of the world that are too rocky, too wet, too hot or too
poor for production, as well as areas developed by people.
Color this 3/32 orange.
Color the last 1/32 section brown. This small bit represents
the soil of our Earth that the world’s more than 7 billion
people depend on for food production. That’s why it’s so
important for farmers to be good stewards of soil.
What?
www.bigstock.com
Stewards Do
t
a
h
W
d
n
u
ro
A
g
in
Toss
ere, when
When?
?
Who
at, wh
then fill in the who, wh
Read this paragraph,
.
as
story’s main ide
and why of some of the
nt of
responsible manageme
d
an
ful
re
ca
the
is
Stewardship
ludes the
natural resources. It inc
our environment and
. Everyone is a
als, land, air and water
im
an
of
nt
me
ge
na
Protecting the
ma
abitants of this Earth.
inh
all
e
ar
we
as
r,
lde
Earth. It means
stakeho
for as stewards of the
ive
str
come.
we
at
wh
is
nt
ure for generations to
environme
fut
ble
ina
sta
su
a
g
rin
d ensu
rroundings has an
caring for ourselves an
in regard to his/her su
n
rso
pe
y
an
of
on
cti
ng aware and
Every action or ina
vironment. By becomi
en
the
for
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ba
or
al
solution.
effect, be it good, neutr
oose to be a part of the
ch
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n,
tio
ac
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doing the
at you learned.
Write a summary of wh
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3
________________________________________________________
re?
Whe
Why?
North Dakota’s Beef Cattle
Color in these North Dakota top beef cattle producing
counties. Do you live in one of these counties?
In what part of North Dakota is each county? Use the
compass rose to determine NW, NE, SW, SE or C
(Central ND).
Morton ______________ Grant ________________
Dunn _______________ McHenry _____________
McKenzie ____________ Kidder _______________
Burleigh _____________ Emmons _____________
Stutsman ____________ Logan _______________
Sioux _______________ Stark ________________
Radu Carcoana, NDSU
It All Adds Up
5. With improved breeding, better nutrition and good care,
more milk is produced today with only 9 million dairy
cows in the U.S. than with 26 million cows in 1944.
How many fewer cows are there today than in 1944?
650 lbs.
720 lbs.
850 lbs.
17 million
19 million
20 million
2. North Dakota has about 1.64 million beef cattle. What
does the number 1.64 million look like?
6. A farmer provides about 30 gallons of water every day
for each dairy cow. If there are 90 milking cows in the
herd, how many gallons of water does the herd get?
1,000,640 1,064,0001,640,000
270 gallons
2,700 gallons
27,000 gallons
3. Dairy cows get lots of feed and water to produce
milk, and they’re milked two or three times per day. Ten
cups of milk are needed to make 1 pound of cheese.
How many cups of milk does it take to make 5 pounds
of cheese?
7. In a comfortable environment, a chicken
can gain 1 pound for every 3 pounds
of feed it eats. How many pounds of
feed would the chicken have to eat
to gain 5 pounds?
22 cups
33 cups
50 cups
4.3 pounds
8.6 pounds
17.2 pounds
www.istockphoto.com
10 pounds
15 pounds
8. Mother pigs called sows often are in stalls so they won’t
lie down on their baby piglets. If 50 sows in the pig
house have an average of 9 piglets each, how many
piglets are in the house?
4. If 1 quart of milk weighs 2.15 pounds,
how much does a gallon of milk weigh?
5 pounds
4
450 piglets
500 piglets
540 piglets
www.istockphoto.com
1. Beef calves weigh about 80 pounds at birth. When they
reach one year, they weigh about 800 pounds. To be
a good steward, farmers and ranchers care for their
cattle to help them grow. About how much weight will
they gain in that one year?
Are You a Steward?
You may not farm the land or raise livestock, but check the ways you can
be a steward – and write more ways.
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
Feed the birds.
Buy birthday presents for your neighbors.
Don’t pour motor oil down the street drain.
Take short showers.
Reuse old paper for scratch paper.
If you see trash, pick it up and put it in a trash can.
Reuse items rather than throwing them away.
Watch TV until you have red eyes.
Recycle cans, bottles and paper.
Walk to school and to your activities.
Turn the water off while you’re brushing your teeth.
Don’t hold the refrigerator door open.
Turn the lights and TV off when you’re done in the room.
q
q
q
q
___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
www.istockphoto.com
www.istockphoto.com
9. By keeping their pigs indoors, farmers
can keep them cool in the summer and
warm in the winter. In part of North
Dakota, the average January temperature
is 17 F and the average July temperature
is 73 F. What is the difference between
the high and low averages?
46 degrees F
56 degrees F
March 25
April 25
66 degrees F
40 pounds
50 pounds
900 lambs
45.7 sheep’s fleeces
47.5 sheep’s fleeces
75.4 sheep’s fleeces
14. Nature requires about 500 years to
produce 1 inch of top soil. How many years
are needed to develop 1/2” of top soil?
May 25
11. A piglet weighs about 3 pounds when it’s born. With
good nutrition and proper care, the pig can increase
its weight by 20 times in eight weeks. About how much
would the pig weigh in eight weeks?
600 lambs
13. If the average sheared sheep has 8 pounds
of wool and a compressed wool bale
weighs 380 pounds, how many sheep’s
fleeces does it take to make a bale?
10. A sow’s gestation (pregnancy) lasts for about three
months, three weeks and three days. If the sow got
pregnant on Jan. 1, about when would the piglets be
born?
450 lambs
100 years
250 years
750 years
15. In North Dakota, about 2/3 of soil erosion is caused by
wind, and the rest is caused by water. What fraction is
caused by water?
60 pounds
1/4
5
1/3
2/3
www.istockphoto.com
12. Samantha’s flock has 300 ewes (female sheep). Half
of the ewes give birth to single lambs and half of them
have twins. How many lambs does she have?
Career Corner
Carl Dahlen, NDSU
Lisa Pederson
Lisa Pederson teaches North Dakota producers how to raise cattle for safe,
wholesome, high-quality beef. When people buy steaks, roasts or ground beef at
the grocery store or at a restaurant, they want to know that the meat is safe and
wholesome – and that begins on the ranch, she says.
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) programs include
keeping good records and protecting the animals’
health. For example, Lisa teaches North Dakota
adult and youth ranchers how to give vaccinations
and medications to cattle the correct way. She
demonstrates this by using a syringe to shoot
mustard into a cupcake. You wouldn’t want to bite
into mustard when you’re eating a cupcake, and
beef consumers don’t want to bite into anything
NDSU photo
except for tasty beef.
Good cattle management also leads to high-quality byproducts, which are things we
use from cattle besides meat. Leather, soap, gelatin, adhesives and medicines are a
few examples of beef byproducts.
“Beef Quality Assurance shows U.S. and international customers that we are doing
everything we know how to do to produce the safest, most wholesome, highest
quality beef – from the farm to the customer’s plate,” Pederson said.
Pederson’s life experiences and education prepared her for her career. “I was raised
on a diversified livestock operation in southwestern Colorado. Now my husband and
I ranch with his family in north central South Dakota. 4-H gave me a lot of hands-on
experience with livestock and leadership skills that have helped me in my career
and in my life.
“I took a variety of classes in college that helped me prepare for my career. Animal
science, agricultural business and education classes have probably been the most
impactful. I was on the Colorado State University livestock, wool and horse judging
teams. Judging helped me speak in front of people I don’t know, explain reasons for
doing things and make good decisions.”
To prepare for a career, Pederson recommends students take as many classes
and engage in as many opportunities as they can. “The variety of skill sets you
learn from doing different things makes you more well-rounded and will make
you more successful.”
6
Cattlemen’s Beef Board
Beef Quality Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Pederson shares several
suggestions for success and
happiness in a career and in life.
n Start every day with a smile on
your face.
n Always treat people respectfully.
Learn good manners, and get in
the habit of saying please and
thank you.
n Do more than what is required.
Arrive early and be the last to
leave.
n Be willing to learn. I am
continuously learning and
incorporating the things I learn in
my work and in my life.
n Don’t get down when a door in
your path closes. Another door
will open.
n Be flexible.
n Stand for what you believe in, but
do it respectfully.
n Do what you say.
n Be a team player.
ut Stewards e poem. All lines of the
o
b
a
m
e
o
P
c
ti
s
An Acro
n each line of th
rs in a word to begi
out stewards.
em ab
es the lette
. Write an acrostic po
rd
An acrostic poem us
wo
c
pi
to
n
ai
m
e
scribe th
poem relate to or de
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bility.
Share the responsi
www.bigstock.com
Farmers and Ranchers Know Best
Circle the best answer to fit the sentence.
1. To avoid overgrazing, farmers and ranchers practice
wise land and (heard or herd) management.
2. To improve (their or there) knowledge and practice,
farmers work closely with soil conservationists.
3. Farmers must (now or know) how to rotate crops for
best results.
4. Ranchers (choose or chose) to work closely with
veterinarians to ensure that their livestock remain healthy.
5. Farmers learn to manage (obnoxious or noxious) weeds
to have greater crop yields.
6. A ewe can recognize the “baa” of (it’s or its) own lamb.
7. Farmers and ranchers care for their livestock because
it’s the right thing to do (ethically or ethnically).
8. Caring for their livestock also makes good business
(cents or sense).
9. (Conversation or Conservation) means taking care of
something to prevent loss – the same as stewardship.
10. Soil conservation can improve water (quantity or quality).
www.istockphoto.com
7
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